The Analysis Of Canada's Welfare State

Canada’s current economic welfare state has proven to be beneficial through the years, due to its socio-economic class and social well-being of its citizens. Workers compensation has helped both employees and employers support one another in the case, where an accident occurs. For workers in Ontario, the Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB) provides help for those who would like to return back to work . For employers, there is coverage through no-fault liability insurance, along with industry-specific information on health and safety. It is to a high degree that, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board is a program that is best suited for Canada’s work environment since, the program is affordable, offers various benefits that are flexible and industry-specific; which have been proven to reduce the rate of accidentals in the workplace.

This program has been in act since May 1st, 1914 after the Workmen's Compensation Act received royal assent . In the 19th century, workers endured a lot of physical harm working in mines, factories, railways and forests. All of which, had very poor working conditions making injury and death a well-known factor when accepting the job. During this time of the industrial revolution, there was no available coverage surrounding these jobs. However, Canadians still took the risk, in order to achieve a promising career. This lead to 40-50 workers injured every day, and 5 workers killed every week, with no added benefits by their employers. As a result, the provincial governments started to look closely at this very problem facing the nation. After this very issue was addressed, the WSIB was formed in 1914, as the primary program available in Ontario. Today, the WSIB has influenced the industrial workforce in Canada in various positive aspects. Being an older and reliable program, it has adapted to the changes of today’s industries, as it is an ever-changing workforce2.

In addition, the costs involved with the program vary since; they are dependent on the industry, the number of injuries, and the wage. The WSIB have come up with the rate framework, with the goal to provide the most efficient benefits for each sector. These costs are derived by the set of premium rates for the 300,000 Ontario owned businesses currently using this program. The rate framework is made up of the various statistics involving the profession itself and the wage . Figure 3: Average Cost for WSIB for every $100 of insurable payroll per year. Year Average Rate per $100 of Insurable Payroll2016 $2.432017 $2.592018 $1.652019 $2.35.

The cost has been fluctuating over the years however; it is noticeably higher in earlier years. This fee paid by the employers has allowed WSIB to cover them and help pay employees throughout their recovery. It helps many businesses and provides a sense of stability for both parties. Secondly, this program has been shown to reduce the rate of workplace related deaths, as more people use their program. It is safe to say, Ontario’s workplaces are becoming safer because there were 41,987 lost time claims in 2013, compared to 50,667 in 20092. A lost claim is when someone’s accident results in a longer period of time for recovery, instead of just the day of the incident. This is evidence that an impact has been made on people with life-changing accidents, who were able to make a claim and take time off work.

Lastly, there are additional positive benefits of this program in terms of the future of Ontario, and Canada’s welfare state. Canada functions in a mixed economy, meaning there are various components that make up its economic system. Economist Karl Marx’s labor theory of value explains how the value of an item or commodity may be determined by looking at the average amount of labor required to produce that product. He believes in “labor power” which is the workers ability to produce goods and services. Basically, the economy needs driven workers in order, to have a gateway to production. Therefore, it is important for workers to be safe while making their most efficient production.

Programs such as, workers compensation allow businesses to be protected from any liability issues in fatal situations. Accidents happen; therefore it is not realistic for there to be issues involving ‘fault’, since it could lead into greater cases depending on the accident. WSIB allows employees time off work, while covering their injuries for the time being. This helps those whose income is below the poverty line, or those who do not have the time to pay for their own medical needs. The idea of welfare is definitely needed in today’s society, since some peoples injuries are far more costly than what they can spare for their recover.

In sum, WSIB has provided the people of Ontario with various benefits with their program by, their help in recovery, flexibility and affordability for all income levels and jobs available. Passing their 100 years of serving, they have been able to maintain a reliable and well-known service that continues to help many people. WSIB should continue to update and change their program as the years go on, to possibly cover almost all workers in Ontario. By making it some sort of basic coverage mandatory in all fields, not just construction, allows for a safer and more efficient workplace. For this reason, it is conclusive that workers compensation in Canada has been a very useful and favorable welfare program offered by the Canadian government.

Works Cited:

1. Arnott, Christine. “WSIB's Centennial Milestone: Commemorating 100 Years of Service toOntarians.” Cision, 2018, www.newswire.ca/news-releases/wsibs-centennial-milestonecommemorating-100-years-of-service-to-ontarians-516212991.html.
2. Prychitko, David. “Marxism.” The Library of Economics and Liberty, 1999,www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Marxism.html.
3. WSIB. “2017 WSIB Highlights Schedule 1 and 2.” By the Numbers, WSIB Ontario, 2017,www.wsibstatistics.ca/.
4. WSIB. “ About Us.” WSIB Ontario, 1998, http://www.wsib.on.ca/WSIBPortal/faces/WSIBPortal/faces/WSIBHomePage?_afrLoop=10736018386200&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=null#%40%3F_afrWindowId%3Dnull%26_afrLoop%3D107360183862000%26_afrWindowMode%3D0%26_adf.ctrl-state%3Dgj19ij7o2_54WSIB.
5. “Rate Framework.” WSIB Ontario, 1998, www.wsib.on.ca/WSIBPortal/faces/WSIBDetailPage?cGUID=WSIB071258&rDef=WSB_RD_ARTICLE&_afrLoop=2932291647088000&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=hl2iishcf_342#@?cGUID=WSIB071258&_afrWindowId=hl2iishcf_342&_afrLoop=2932291647088000&rDef=WSIB_RD_ARTICLE&_afrWindowMode=0&_adf.ctrl-state=hl2iishcf_370 .